The Worlds most famous brand has re-branded. Since the logo was originally designed in 1967 the company coca cola has gone through many re-brands, changing strap lines and packaging according to current events, campaigns and time frames but substantially the classic logo has had minimal change.
Remember the adverts and strap lines:
Coca cola is it
The 3d polar bears
The colourful animated illustrations.
With a multimillion dollar marketing budget Coca Cola have always pushed the line on design, keeping up with new design trends and techniques. Much like the rest of the design industry Coca Cola got a little muddled up during the 21st Century. Design itself took a big step on colour & illustration as everyone overworked designs utilizing many techniques with the latest software.
The abstract futuristic CGI effect (glows, lines, small fonts, exploding shapes) was popular and the dirty grunge look made a comeback as an alternative. On another note the colourful overfilled illustrative cartoon effect was utilsed by many and then finally web.20 threw its 2p’s worth in.
Coca cola maximized on the trendy yet classy cartoony illustrative style and in doing so cluttered its packaging with extra colours and shapes. Just like fashion, graphic design can have a cautious tale of going out of trend after being over used and this is what happened to Coke. The strong illustrations just got a little tiring, old and cluttered, eventually loosing focus of what Coke is.
Like many successful brands they decided to re-brand in a way that’s becoming very common. NASA did it, so did KFC along with countless others and now its Cokes turn to go back to the beginning.
The original Coke bottle was designed to be recognisable even in the dark and once again it has been re-shaped and simplified. The cans are a clean pure red with just the iconic logo emblazed across it. It’s dynamic, simple and swift. The use of red dead space adds to the contemporary feel yet emphasises the “Classic” strap line in every way. By simplifying the packaging the brand has come back to its roots, distinctively reinforcing what made Coke the world famous brand it is today.
Along with the packaging the new TV campaigns use strong vibrant but natural colours with real people rejoicing in the taste of Coke rather then the design that surrounds it. Overall the focus has been to reintroduce the brand back to its basic originality of a great tasting beverage for people.
Old ideas reinvented.
2 thumbs up.
